Original Article

Epidemiology and histological subtypes of Hodgkin lymphoma in the south-west of Turkey

10.5455/gulhane.25722

  • Mustafa Yıldırım
  • Mustafa Yıldız
  • Erdal Kurtoğlu
  • Hülya Karakılınç
  • Utku Dönem Dilli
  • Sevil Göktaş

Received Date: 22.01.2012 Accepted Date: 12.02.2012 Gulhane Med J 2012;54(3):216-219

Lymphomas are solid tumors of the immune system, and are diseases characterized by interrupted differentiation of lymphocytes, which are major components of the system, at various phases and their clonal proliferation. In this article, the epidemiology of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the factors influencing the frequency of its histological subtypes, with the populationbased data of 1994 to 2010 from Antalya Cancer Registration Center are discussed. The study covered patients who were histopathologically diagnosed to have Hodgkin’s lymphoma from 1994 to 2010. The study involved 454 patients, 284 (62.6%) males and 170 (37.4%) females. Male/female ratio was found as 1.67. The average age of all patients was identified as 36.6±18.9 years and their median age was 34 (range 2-88) years. Changes in histological subtypes were studied with respect to years. Nodular sclerosis subtype predominated over time. In conclusion, the epidemiological findings on Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Turkey are similar in general to those reported in the Western literature. The frequency of histological subtypes is associated with sex, age and the occurence of EBV infection. Further studies are required to determine the factors that play role in the etiology of this disease, which is frequent in Turkey, and to shed light on its pathogenesis.

Keywords: Epidemiology, histological subtype, Hodgkin’s lymphoma